


Prom?

by Glowcloudwasright



Series: Lumberjanes Week 2020 [2]
Category: Lumberjanes
Genre: AU, Aged Up, Alternate Universe - High School, Day 4, F/F, Fluff, I guess since they are in high school, Lumberjanes week 2020, Multi, Prom, Very brief rosie/abigail, also kind of a coffee shop au, very cheesy everything, very nervious molly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25317058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glowcloudwasright/pseuds/Glowcloudwasright
Summary: It's prom season and it shows, everyone is asking their sweethearts to prom, and Molly only has so much time left to make her move.
Relationships: April/Jo (Lumberjanes), Diane/Hes (Lumberjanes), Emily/Wren (Lumberjanes), Mal/Molly (Lumberjanes)
Series: Lumberjanes Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828696
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Today is AU day and I have been working on this one for a while so I thought of uploading the first chapter as today's entry (that's not cheating pfft)  
> Basically it's a bunch of clichés that I love thrown together, all fluff all day, so I hope you enjoy!  
> (I actually managed to cram all my OTPs into this, can you believe it?)

It was a day like any other for Molly. Her alarm woke her up way too early for her liking, signaling she had to get ready to go to school and fast. Bubbles, her dog, wagged his tail much more excited than her considering the hour it was. Molly scratched his head and went on with her routine.

Molly made her way to the bathroom, fixed her blonde hair into her usual messy braid, threw on an old green hoodie and went out the door barely waving goodbye to her dad, taking a piece of toast on the way out.

She knew this wasn’t a proper breakfast, but she’d grab something to eat later, right now she had to get to school for a test on first period, and also to see Mal before that if she was lucky.

After biking all the way to school, which wasn’t that far away from her house, Molly made her way to her locker, hoping whatever formulas she had studied last night were still inside her head.

“You always mumble physics formulas before a test?” A familiar voice called from behind her, a voice she could recognize anywhere.

“Mal, hey!” Molly said, turning around to hug her girlfriend, not even minding that she was caught reciting formulas like a maniac.

Mal hugged her back, tightly like always.

“Ready to ace that test?” Mal asked, ever encouraging.

“I hope.” Was all Molly said, remembering her mom’s threats to take away her phone if she didn’t bring up her grades.

Her friends had been nice enough to tutor her on some subjects that were giving her trouble, and although it was rather interesting studying World History with April and Ripley and Chemistry with Jo, she enjoyed studying physics with Mal much more.

“No worries, you’ll do great.” The bell rang, signaling for them to go to their respective classrooms.

Mal leaned on Molly’s shoulder to kiss her cheek. “For good luck.” She whispered.

Molly couldn’t help but blush and her heart flutter at the gesture. They might have been dating for a few weeks now but that still made the butterflies in her stomach go crazy.

“Remember we’re going to Hes and Mackenzie’s game after class!” Molly reminded Mal, as she walked away. Mal turned around, signaling back an “okay” and nearly tripping for trying to walk without looking.

Molly snickered at the sight. That was all the good luck she needed.

The test went by fast, just a couple of problems scribbled on the board and Molly was free. She might have missed a few points due to nerves, but hey, she made her best effort and it felt like enough.

Her other classes went by just as fast, until it was time for lunch. Her stomach growled thinking about it, maybe skipping breakfast hadn’t been such a good idea.

“You guys are going to the game after school right?” Ripley asked, as Molly sat down next to Mal at their usual table.

She liked this routine, having lunch everyday with Jo, April, Ripley and Mal. Occasionally Barney, Diane, Hes, Mackenzie, Wren and Emily would join too, if everyone was up for April and Diane’s bickering that day.

“Of course we are.” Mal assured, having remembered Molly mentioned it that morning.

“You knooow…” April said in a sing song voice that only meant ‘I know something you don’t’ “I heard that Hes was planning on promposing to Diane today at the game.”

“Aren’t they too young for that?” Ripley asked, fairly confused.

“Not “proposing”, Rip.” Jo explained. “PROMpose, she’s going to ask her if she wants to go to the school dance with her.”

Now that made more sense to Ripley. Not that much, but a little more.

“How do you even know that?” Mal asked, incredulous.

“You know I have my sources.” April said, trying to keep up her air of mystery.

“Barney told you, didn’t they?” Mal replied with a smirk, and Jo chuckled beside April, all intended mystery going to hell.

“As a matter of fact it was Wren!” The ginger girl defended.

Everyone at the table laughed as subjects went back and forth, but Molly was pensive to say the least.

Prom was nearing, and with that the school started to flood with people asking their sweethearts to go to prom with them, each promposal more elaborate than the last. It was always fun seeing all the romantic gestures, most of them successful, others not so much. But Molly wasn’t just pensive about who could throw the next flashmob or locker filled with balloons; she was pensive because she really wanted to invite Mal to the prom.

Mal was usually the one who did all the romantic mushy stuff, like invite her on elaborate romantic dates, serenade her with her guitar, and so on, and of course Molly swooned every time, but this time she wanted to be the one to throw the big question. The biggest question a couple of sixteen year olds could throw at least.

The only problem was… she had no idea what to do.

And every day that passed it was harder to think about it, since every day had at least one elaborate promposal that Molly couldn’t just copy, that wasn’t romantic at all. And the worst of all, the date of the dance was nearing.

Still, she could let one more day pass her by, right? She decided to brainstorm for ideas scribbling them in her notebook during particularly boring classes.

The bell dismissed the students from their last classes, some making their way to clubs and extracurriculars; some, like Molly, making a bee line for the school gymnasium, where the school’s basketball team was playing quarter finals for the local tournament in a while.

She was surprised to see Ripley was already there, face painted with the school colors, pompoms and all that jazz. Looking around, Ripley was there even before the visiting team, or the home team for that matter.

“Molly! I saved the best spots!” Ripley waved a pompom excitedly at her the moment she entered the gymnasium. From behind the green and dark red mess of pompoms Molly could see Wren, Emily and Diane already sat down next to Ripley, waving at her too. 

Not long after, the gym was flooding with students, both teams were stretching at their respective ends of the court and Molly was resting her head on Mal’s shoulder, lightly chatting with the rest of her friends who had already arrived.

The referee’s whistle signaled then the start of the game, prompting both teams to take their places in the court. Hes, as usual, faced the other team’s captain to get the initial jump.

The game’s first two quarters went by fast, and the Lumberjanes (the school’s team name) were on the lead, working like a well-oiled machine.

“Go, Hes!” Diane cheered from the bleachers, louder than anybody else.

The half time whistle resounded at the gym and the Lumberjanes huddled back to their side to strategize and hydrate.

It was sweet how Hes’ tough exterior fell completely once she saw Diane still cheering from the bleachers, turning her into a giggling, blushing mess.

“Hey! Focus!” Mackenzie reminded Hes, bumping her shoulder on their way to the side of the court. It was all in good spirit, but Hes was still annoyed, her girlfriend was just too cute to ignore.

The third quarter was now over, and the score was a painfully tied 60-60. The Lumberjanes huddled to the side once again before the final quarter started, Hes explaining the team’s strategy alongside their coach.

“Pst, look over there.” April whispered to their little group, pointing to a stray basketball that had been tucked under the home team’s bench beforehand.

Hes quickly switched the ball that had been used during the entirety of the game for this new one, making sure with the referee it was all okay beforehand, as to not cost them the game for alleged foul play.

Molly could see some letters scribbled on the surface of the ball, but before she was able to actually read them, the ball was back to being tossed around between the players.

“Show me the way! The Lumberjanes way!” The school’s cheer resounded through the bleachers at the nerve wrecking game that kept tied for the longest time.

The Lumberjanes would score swiftly only to be met with a counter score from the opposing team each time. There were still 20 seconds on the clock and the ball was in the opposing team’s side. The ball passing around three Lumberjanes players from side to side, trying to find a breach on the defense. 

The ball was thrown at Hes, who eyed at the panel in front of her. The score was 70-71, in favor of the visiting team, and now the clock stated to count down from 10. Like a moment straight from a cheesy teen movie Hes turned towards the board, every single student on the edge of their seat or standing up from sheer anxiety.

With a sudden movement Hes threw the ball from her position, hew feet barely touching the ground went the whistle went off, signaling the end of the game, only to be met with the ball going swiftly straight through the basket, for a winning three pointer.

The panel in front of them changed to 73-71 and the gymnasium was filled with roaring applause and cheers. Hes could barely believe it when the rest of her teammates ran towards her, crushing her in a hug. The Lumberjanes were moving to the semifinals, but Hes’ work wasn’t done yet.

Mackenzie swiftly retrieved the ball from where it landed, still bouncing a bit and passed it to Hes quickly. The taller girl marched towards the bleachers, specifically where Diane was sitting. Now it made sense why Ripley wanted to sit so close to the court and Moly couldn’t help but wonder how many people were involved in this.

The gym fell quiet once Hes reached the bleachers, kneeling in front of a very flustered Diane. It was unusual seeing the smug girl like this.

“Diane,” Hes said, turning the ball that read “prom?” to face her girlfriend and taking a deep breath. “Would you do me the honor to go to prom with me?”

The group huddled to either side of Diane, quietly waiting for her answer. Diane was one for drama and theatrics, so she looked around with a smirk before answering.

No one actually believed she would refuse, for starters she and Hes had been dating for quite some time now, but there was something about the promposals that turned anyone into the equivalent of a soap opera fanatic waiting for a dramatic twist. April held onto Jo’s arm in a manner that seemed painful to the taller girl, not that she minded; Mal was at the edge of her seat with Molly, and Ripley and Emily were eating away their nails, just to name a few reactions.

“Of course I will, dummy.” Diane finally answered, throwing herself into Hes’ arms as their friends and other students around them cheered.

Even the visiting team applauded at the cute gesture, and some people could swear the basketball coach was wiping away a tear.

This was exactly why Molly was so nervous about organizing a promposal, how do people even get around to all of this?

Molly turned around to see Wren wearing a foam finger with the inscription “H+D” inside a heart. Had she had it during the whole game? If not, where was it??

After the excitement died out the team went back to the showers to change and a couple of students still lingered around the gym.

“Hey, there’s gonna be an after party at Kiera’s, you guys coming?” Wren asked after eyeing her phone.

Word got around about an after game party over at someone’s house to celebrate, and being a Friday evening, everyone was mostly in with the plan. Almost everyone.

“Sorry guys, I gotta be home early and I have an early shift tomorrow.” Molly excused herself.

She didn’t really care much for parties, but sometimes it was fun going with her friends. This time however, she’d have to pass. Her mother had been very clear about wanting her home before 9pm for whatever reason, especially since she had to work tomorrow morning.

“I’m gonna sit this one out too.” Mall added, and shot a look at Molly to let her know it was because she wanted to walk her home

Molly shot her a smile in exchange.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More promposals!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentaly cropped both chapters in a weird way, sorry about that.

After saying their goodbyes the couple started to walk in the direction of Molly’s house. It wasn’t the first time Mal accompanied her, so they already had sort of a system. It was too much of a nuisance to deal with her mom when she saw Molly being dropped off by Mal, so she didn’t mind parting ways about a block before reaching the Powell residence.

Molly was always thankful to Mal for being so understanding, even if she assured her it was nothing.

“Could I come by to the café tomorrow? I should do some homework and we can have lunch after your shift is over.” Mal asked while they were walking the familiar path, big houses lining left and right.

“You know you don’t have to ask.” Molly snickered. “But sure, I’d love to.”

Mal smiled sheepishly. It was adorable how after all that time it still made her fluster to ask Molly on dates, no matter how small.

“It’s also open mic night tomorrow, we could stick around if you’d like.” Molly offered too.

“I’d love to.” Molly smiled at the reply. “Besides-“ Mal continued. “you know April’s planning on asking Jo to prom tomorrow.”

Molly stiffened at the mention of the dreaded dance.

“She is? What is she doing after all?” Molly tried her best to sound nonchalant, hoping Mal didn’t notice how her voice was breaking with nerves.

Mal laughed, probably at Molly’s reaction. “She’s keeping it a secret until tomorrow. But just a heads up, she told me she has to talk to you too about it.”

Molly sighed but a small smile still appeared on her face. April had a knack for big elaborate gestures, especially when it came to Jo, which meant she dragged her friends along on her endeavors very often.

“Well, here’s my stop.” Mal said, suddenly stopping at the usual corner, about a block away from Molly’s house.

Molly hadn’t even notice they were in her neighborhood already.

“See you tomorrow then.” Molly said, and now it was her turn to surprise Mal with a quick kiss on her cheek that day, before waving her goodbye and heading towards her house.

“Bye, love!” Mal called back to Molly, waving her hand with a dorky smile on her face, Molly still blushed at the sudden pet names too.

Molly walked the remaining block, keeping the smile on her face even during dinner with her parents and sister. All the small talk seemed muffled by this happiness she was feeling, at least until Molly went back upstairs to her room and started checking her social media before bed.

Bubbles was snoring slightly as he rested his tiny head against Molly’s side, but was mildly awaken when Molly groaned in frustration remembering about the dance.

Pictures of Hes’ promposal flooded her timeline, along with pictures of other kids doing the same around other schools. ‘Tis the season, after all.

Molly had to think of something to do and it had to be quick.

Molly woke up to the sound of her Saturdays’ alarm, thankful about having missed the party because there was no way she could have woken up on time if she had stayed up all night. She rarely had an early shift at the café, but they were short staffed these days, couldn’t complain about the extra money though.

She went through her morning routine, putting on her work polo and made her way downstairs, making sure to take some actual breakfast with her this morning.

Molly didn’t really mind the rush; she loved working at the café. The pay wasn’t much, but she enjoyed not depending on her parents allowance for money each month, and the café was actually fun to work at.

It was run by a tall, bulky woman with short ginger hair named Rosie. Molly had passed by the café a handful of times, until one day a sign that read “help wanted” caught her eye. She didn’t have any experience with kitchen work, or any work really, but Rosie still gave her a chance. Turns out, Molly wasn’t so bad at it.

Most shifts she shared with Jen, an older girl who attended university downtown and they had quickly become friends. Molly and Jen would spend their evenings preparing the drinks and serving tables while Rosie worked mostly behind at the kitchen. On particularly slow days, Jen would teach Molly how to do latte art and they would talk about books and space. Jen was studying astrophysics after all. 

Some days Rosie’s wife, Abigail, would come down to the café too and make light conversation with the girls. Molly learned after a few days working there that Abigail managed the cafés finances. And that she could make a mean hot chocolate.

Kids from school visited the café occasionally too, and since Molly was working there, her friends hung around quite often. Specially Mal, taking any excuse to do homework there or just listen to music and have a coffee waiting for Molly to end her shift, shooting smiles and playful looks at her while she tended tables.

Since she had the early shift it was Molly’s turn to open up, although Rosie was always there earlier, Jen seemed to have been there from earlier too.

“Morning, rascals.” Rosie greeted both of them once she emerged from her office, while Molly finished setting up tables and Jen set up the coffee machine.

“Good morning, Rosie.”

“Good morning!”

After serving countless tables and even more hot beverages, Molly guessed it was 1 pm already, because Jo, April and Barney came marching in, looking for their caffeine fix. Most Saturdays they would hang out at the café after Jo and Barney were finished with their robotics club and April was done with whatever extracurricular she was at this week. Molly couldn’t quite remember if today was debate or play rehearsal.

Molly greeted her friends from behind the counter, ready to take their orders. As always, a chai latte for Barney, iced coffee for Jo and a cranberry iced tea for April. Molly was proud to have memorized all her friend’s usual orders.

The trio sat on the couches near the exit to the patio to stay close to Molly’s service area and sneak a few jokes to her and Jen.

Jo eyed curiously the bulletin board on the back of the café looking for anything interesting, a few seconds later Molly came rushing with their drinks.

“Thanks, Molly.” The three said in near unison.

After a few minutes Mal came in, followed by Ripley who must have run into her while she skated at the nearby park. The number of times Ripley had come in covered in bruises, leaves and dirt still amazed Molly, almost as much as how the girl still came back the next day like nothing had happened.

Jen was closest to the register, so she took the girls’ order. Molly still made sure to shoot them a smile, recalling their usual orders in her head, a hot chocolate for Ripley, with extra marshmallows and a latte for Mal, decaf if possible. Molly loved surprising Mal with little works of art in her latte every time she could, even if the only drawing she had mastered up to now was a raccoon. Mal always thought it was adorable.

“Hey Molly, it’s almost the end of your shift, you can go sit with your friends if you want.” Jen offered while Molly finished washing some cups.

Molly never liked leaving Jen alone with work, but looking around the café was mostly empty now, the lunch hour rush having finished about an hour ago. There was only the group of teenagers and a couple at a nearby table, so Molly reluctantly agreed.

“Hey you.” Mal finally said a proper hello to her girlfriend, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her cheek.

The conversation carried on, mostly about some incident at the robotics club that nearly caused a robot uprising. Luckily, the batteries ran out soon enough.

At one point, when April went to order a refill on her iced tea she asked Molly to accompany her, a familiar gleam in her eyes hinted Molly to what the shorter girl’s intentions were.

“So, did Mal tell you about tonight?” April finally asked, clearly trying to contain her excitement.

“Sort of, it was all very cryptic.” Molly admitted.

“Good, I was very cryptic. I want this to be a surprise.”

“How can I help, captain?” Molly shot April a quick salute and April giggled, letting her excitement show once more.

She then proceeded to sort of, kind of explain her plan to Molly. It was rather simple, considering April’s standards. A song, or serenade as she had put it, for Jo to a song Molly only recognized from some 90’s movie she had probably seen once or twice.

“Like in that movie with Heath Ledger?” Molly asked.

“10 things I hate about you, yeah!” That apparently was Jo’s guilty pleasure romcom.

Molly thought the gesture was amazingly sweet and apparently Mal had helped April practice the song, giving some constructive criticism on the idea. She could only imagine how the diva in April clashed with the music snob in Mal.

All Molly needed to do was entertain Jo for about an hour while April prepared everything, whatever she meant by “everything”.

The group went their separate ways after a while, agreeing to re meet at the café that night at around 7 for the open mic.

“Are you coming too, Jen?” Ripley asked, as it was almost the end of the older girl’s shift too.

“If I’m done with homework on time, yes. I heard someone’s planning something huge for tonight.” Jen said, raising an eyebrow at April.

“Gee, I wonder who could be.” Barney said, dripping sarcasm with a smile.

It was now 6pm and Mal had to leave a few hours earlier to go back home to help her mom with some stuff. Molly decided to hang around until it was time for the open mic night, not really needing to go home to change since she had a spare shirt in her bag. Now that she thought about it, April didn’t really specify when she would have to entertain Jo or even how.

A text from April caught her attention. Right on cue.

 **April:** The eagle will arrive at the nest in 10 minutes.

 **Molly:** The what?

Molly eyed the text for a few seconds.

 **Molly:** Wait you got an eagle????

 **April:** What? No

Jo will be there in 10

Molly sighed in relief, but an eagle was actually a possibility with April.

**April:** …do you think I should get an eagle?

 **Molly:** NO.

Another text caught Molly’s attention.

**Jo:** Hey Mol, are you at the café by any chance?

 **Molly:** Yep!

 **Jo:** Sweet, be there in 10.

Like a perfectly timed military operation, which kind of was, Jo arrived at the café exactly 10 minutes later. Molly could see Jo’s dads’ car driving away after dropping her off.

The people in charge of the night shift at the café where already setting up the equipment for the night.

“So, April got you in on it too?” Jo asked after taking a sit next to the blonde girl.

Molly nearly choked on her coffee, afraid of what might have given away the surprise. Was she that bad of a liar? She hadn’t even say a word.

“What? That’s not- Why would-” Molly was starting to stutter thinking of what to say, her voice cracking and looking everywhere but to Jo’s eyes. Maybe she really was that bad of a liar.

Jo let out a chuckle. “Molly, I already know. Don’t worry.”

“But how? April was being all mysterious and stuff so it was a surprise.”

“’Cause she told me beforehand. She knows I hate surprises.” Jo answered matter-of-factly.

In retrospective, Molly thought this made sense. They had all been friends for quite some time now, but Jo and April had been friends since they were babies, and after a few surprise birthday parties and a particularly difficult summer surprise when Jo tried to avoid that year’s party, April understood that Jo liked more low-key gifts. Now that they were dating, Molly sometimes wondered how the detail-loving April navigated that. That was apparently how.

“How romantic of you two.” Molly teased, easing on her seat.

“Very.” Jo assured with a proud smile.

Apparently Jo didn’t know that much about the surprise, but she somehow still knew some details Molly didn’t and vice versa. The devil worked hard, but April worked harder, especially to maintain her surprise factor.

Ripley and Barney were the first to arrive and after a while Wren and Emily came in too, walking hand in hand. Unsurprisingly, they were all in on the surprise too. Molly was starting to visibly become a nervous mess, she hadn’t even start to think of something for Mal and the date of the prom was nearing. Would she need to basically hire a whole entourage for her surprise too?

“Hey Molly, are you asking Mal to the prom too?” Barney suddenly asked her, voicing her own concerns.

“That’s a whole thing actually. I want to ask Mal to prom too, but I have no idea what to do.” Molly explained her predicament from the last few days.

“But do you want a whole thing or something more personal?” Emily asked.

Molly plopped down on her chair, feeling defeated when she admitted she hadn’t even thought about that, although she was sure neither her nor Mal wanted anything too public.

“Well, it doesn’t have to be too big, could be just between you and Mal.” Emily concluded.

“Wait, what did you guys do? I can’t remember.” Ripley asked Emily and Wren. She kept tabs on every single promposal held at school. She wasn’t one for all the mushy stuff, but Ripley liked seeing whatever the people would come up with.

“It wasn’t at school. We were having a séance at my house so I spelled “Prom?” inside my crystal ball for Emily.” Wren answered smugly.

“It was terrifying and _so_ romantic.” Emily added, grabbing Wren’s hand again.

“How did you even do that?!” Ripley asked, startruck with the idea of summoning ghosts herself.

“Witch secret.” Wren simply answered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Ripley was even more starstruck now.

“It was mirrors, wasn’t it?” Jo said.

“Yeah, it was mirrors.” Emily answered, earning her a nudge from Wren.

Ok maybe Molly wasn’t willing to summon ghosts to ask Mal to prom (maybe), but even the mirror trick was a bit much, they also didn’t hold séances and other paranormal shenanigans ever week like Wren and Emily.

Everyone tried to offer ideas to Molly, but she was quick to shut them down.

“Oh, we could tie a little note to Bubbles and let him give it to Mal!” Ripley offered excited, but as cute as that sounded, Bubbles had a history of devouring any paper that came near him.

“You could write something for her, like a poem or a song.” Barney offered, remembering Molly loved writing small stories and poems from time to time. Molly was a little embarrassed about the idea of putting all of those thoughts and feelings into paper just yet, at least one that Mal would see.

As patrons filled the café and more of their friends arrived, the group continued brainstorming ideas, everything ranging from an arrange of cupcakes that spelled “prom?” with Barney’s secret buttercream recipe to writing the question in the sky with one of those planes, which Jo assured she could arrange with some of her dads contacts.

Sweet as their help was, Molly was starting to feel a little overwhelmed by it all. They were great ideas, but they didn’t feel like the perfect gesture she wanted to convey, as vague as that was.

“Why not just pop the question when she least expects it? She’ll go with you either way.” Diane offered. She and Hes had arrived together not long ago.

“That’s true.” Jo agreed.

“Maybe it doesn’t have to be a whole thing for Mal to like it.” Ripley offered.

Of course there was an unspoken agreement of going together since they were a couple, but Molly felt like that wasn’t enough. Mal was special, so she had to do something special.

Mal then entered the café and everyone was quick to change the subject, as unsuspiciously as possible. The place was mostly filled by now and all conversation was muffled by the voices of the many other customers around. Even Jen had come through, along with some friends from her class. The only person who wasn’t in sight was April, probably still preparing details here and there.

The lights were suddenly dimmed, except for the one towards the back of the café, were the employees had arranged various speakers, microphones and general paraphernalia. A band consisting of people Molly and probably no one else had seen before took the instruments and tuned for a few seconds.

Then, the lights went out.

Concerned mumbling could be heard from everywhere around the café, speculating a power outage or something like that. Molly looked around, not sure if this was April’s doing or not, until she couldn’t see neither Ripley nor Barney around.

“Okay, here we go…” Mal muttered, a devilish smirk on her face, having received a text from April at that second.

Jo slumped on her chair and sighed in resignation, although the smile on her face was apparent, she was still nervous about what April had come up with.

The café was illuminated again much to everyone’s relief, this time by a long string of fairy lights that went from the bar all the way to the make do stage. Then the band started playing.

It was a slow cover of the song Heath Ledger sang at the movie, with a much more prominent electric guitar and bass, most likely arranged by Mal.

The drums joined in and then it was April’s turn.

Contrary to what everyone expected, she wasn’t at the front, but emerged dramatically from behind the bar singing the first few lines of the song, her looks complete with a very flattering outfit replica of the dark blue velvet jacket Heath Ledger’s character wore in that scene.

Barney was apparently in charge of the lights, following April’s trail from the bar to the stage with the precision of a long time technician. They had also arranged the fairy lights and most of the decorations with Wren. How Rosie allowed them to do all that was a mystery.

With every verse Jo smiled wider, and if it wasn’t for the dimmed lights, her blush would have been much more apparent. April, however, picked up on it, smiling wider and making herculean efforts to not forget her lyrics or cues because of her girlfriend.

The song faded out with the last notes of guitar and bass, April singing the last few words of the song. That was Ripley’s sign, pulling on a not so inconspicuous rope placed at one side of the stage, causing a cascade of heart shaped confetti to rain over the area of the stage, Jo being seated close enough to it for some of the confetti to end up in her hair and lap. 

The song ended and the café filled with thunderous applause. Who could blame them? That wasn’t something you saw on an open mic night very often.

Ripley sneaked back from behind Jo, holding a sign that was most definitely a creation by her and April because of the amount of glitter and the painfully funny (?) pun written on it. “I can’t take my eyes off of you, but can ‘eye’ take you to prom?”

April walked back from the stage, a nervous smile on her face. Most patrons weren’t paying much attention to them anymore, and the band was already preparing for another song. 

Jo stood up from her seat and ignored how much her cheeks hurt from smiling so much, lifting April into a tight hug. April wrapped her arms around the taller girl’s neck, waiting for her answer with a big smile.

“So?” The smaller girl asked, her eyes big and bright were obvious despite the dim light.

“You’re a dork, you know that? Of course I’m going with you.” The small group around them cheered. It was great finally having all the pieces together for April’s cryptic plan and it was even better seeing it to completion with the adorable couple still embracing each other.

Compared to other surprises April had pulled off, this one even seemed rather simple.

“Barney is still ready with the pyrotechnics if you’ve changed your mind since the last time I asked…” April added shooting Jo her best puppy dog eyes.

Now that made more sense.

“No pyrotechnics.” Jo said, for the third time that week. “Also, Barney and I have a science project due next week; you can’t blow them up yet.”

“Or ever!” Barney protested from behind them.

“Agh, fine.” April shot Barney a sign probably only comprehensible between the two, making their way back visibly disappointed. April’s pouting stopped after Jo placed a kiss on her forehead.

The group stayed to see all the other acts until it was almost closing time. April’s performance left the café’s atmosphere with a general romantic air to it, nothing to do with the fact that they kind of short circuited a few lights and caused them to stay dimmed. But oh well, Rosie didn’t seem mad about it, or Abigail was too much of a distraction, since they were chatting over a couple cups of coffee and the faint sound of the various acts of the open mic.

Emily and Wren were still holding hands, sneaking secret comments to each other with each new act; Diane and Hes were huddled together sharing one of the armchairs, paying little to no attention to anything besides each other, same as April and Jo on the opposite armchair, were Jo still held onto the glittery sign with one arm while the other hugged April’s waist, they were paying only a little more attention to the conversation around them.

Finally there were Mal and Molly, sharing the couch in the middle of the group with Barney and Ripley, Mal’s arm draped over Molly’s shoulders, Molly’s head laying on Mal’s shoulder in exchange, sure that if she didn’t move soon the dim lights and warmth of Mal’s body would make her doze off any moment now, but she didn’t mind. At least the whole promposal affair gave her a moment to rest from her worries. A short moment though. 

At some point, while Mal was in the bathroom, April offered Molly the 5 pounds of fireworks she had set despite Jo’s wishes, and Molly even considered it for a whole second. In the end she refused, afraid her promposal could end up with an involuntary arson charge, but also refusing to give the pyrotechnics to Ripley, just in case.

“Well, that was something.” Mal spoke up. They were making their way back to Molly’s house, since Mal offered to accompany Molly once more.

Molly let out a laugh in agreement, “something” barely begun to cover it, especially since Molly was still picking heart shaped confetti from her hair..

“I’m still curious about those pyrotechnic though.” Molly admitted.

Mal squirmed at the words, imagining what could have happened if Ripley, Barney and April were left in charge of 5 pounds of explosives. Nothing good to be frank.

Molly laughed again at the thought. “It was still really sweet.”

“Yeah…” Mal said, and Molly noticed she had something in her mind.

Before she could ask, Mal stopped walking and spoke up again, grabbing Molly's hand on her own. “Hey Mol, I know pyrotechnics and power ballads aren’t really our thing, but with all the promposals going around I was thinking-“

Oh no, Molly had a good idea of where Mal was going with this conversation. She was going to ask her to prom then and there, not that Molly would refuse, never. It was actually romantic really, since the night air was blowing softly and the grass around them was shining with dew from the earlier rain. They were passing an old park, were Mal and Molly had stopped a couple of times before just to sit on the swings and talk for hours or goof around the playground.

But that wasn’t what was supposed to happen, at least not according to Molly’s expectations. She was going to ask Mal to prom, even if that was the last thing she did.

“Let’s go to the swings!” Molly interrupted her with the first thing that came to her mind. Not the smoothest save, but a save nonetheless.

Mal was surprised by the sudden outburst. “Are you sure? It’s getting late and your mom might call you if you’re late.”

Mal was right though. Her mom had been a little more permissive today about her curfew, but it was almost 10pm.

“Oh, right. Maybe some other time then?” Molly asked, hoping that was enough to get Mal out of her thoughts, resuming back the walk to her house.

“Uhm sure.” Mal concluded. “But about what I was saying earlier...”

Molly’s phone started to ring and at that moment Molly was sure she had a guardian angel watching over her, even if just to help her at that exact moment. She quickly eyed the caller ID, shielding the phone slightly from Mal’s view. It was Ripley, but she could use this to her advantage.

“Hey, dad.” She answered, taking a few steps away from Mal in case she heard the other girl’s voice.

“What? No, it’s Ripley.” Ripley answered, confused.

“Yeah, I’m on my way back now.”

“Back where? Molly its Ripley. RIP-LEY. You know, blue hair, we just saw each other like 30 minutes ago.”

“Yeah, Bubbles already ate.” Molly said the first thing that came to her mind, hoping maybe Ripley would catch up on her lie. She would explain everything later.

“Oh well, that’s good. Make sure to give him some of the treats he likes so much!” Ripley answered, almost forgetting about everything once Bubbles was mentioned. She really loved that dog. “But wait, I called because I need to know if you already started bio homework, I’m stuck with something.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in 10, dad. See ya.”

“Wait, is that a ye-“ Ripley couldn’t finish her question since Molly hung up then, worried too long of a call might seem suspicious.

She then turned to Mal, putting away her phone. “Sorry, just my dad asking where I was.” Molly couldn’t suppress the nervous chuckle she let out.

“Everything okay?” Mal asked. If something was wrong at home Molly would tell her, but she was still acting very suspicious.

“Of course.” Molly said, a little more confident this time. That wasn’t a lie this time, everything was actually great, because she had just bought herself another day to think about the promposal.

The pair walked the remaining blocks hand in hand, talking about Bubbles and other mundane things until the usual parting point. A good night kiss and awkward waves later and Molly was walking back home the last remaining block, then she was jogging, and then she was sprinting. She had some planning to do.

And some tutoring for Ripley too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't seen 10 things I hate about you, the song is Can't take my eyes off of you by Frankie Vallie, there are some amazing covers of the song out there if you'd like something different for the scene.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red yarn and mysterious notes

“Okay, something tells me we’re not just here to study biology.” April said, adjusting in her seat.

She, Jo, Ripley and Molly were currently in Jo’s room, all of them rather curious about why Molly had texted them to meet up that same afternoon after school, making a very clear point not to tell Mal anything.

Molly was pacing around the room with a worried expression, while Jo tried to get Ripley away from her latest invention in case of her room exploding from the careless tinkering. Her dads had been very clear about no explosions in the house.

“Oh I still need some help with that.” Ripley commented, finally turning her attention away from Jo’s desk.

“Sorry about the mysterious texts, guys.” Molly said, finally turning towards the other girls when they had settled.

“Yeah, that’s usually April’s thing.” Jo commented. April just shrugged in agreement, since she couldn’t really argue with that.

“I really need your help with how I’m asking Mal to prom.” Molly rubbed her arm and adverted the gazes of her friends. She felt embarrassed about how l much time she had let pass by, and even more embarrassed about still not having a clue what to do.

“If the fireworks weren’t your thing I actually did some research on that eagle we talked abo-“

“No.” Molly interrupted April before she explained any further, the less Molly knew about the eagle topic the better.

Jo turned her head confused, almost to ask what they were talking about and Ripley beamed at the mention of yet another dangerous creature she would probably try to befriend. But before they could get off topic, Molly continued.

“I know I’ve mentioned it before but I’m running out of time and Mal almost asked me to prom the other day.” Molly said, sitting down at the edge of Jo’s bed.

“Whoa, and what did you say?” Jo asked.

“I panicked and tried to change topics. Then Ripley called me and I pretended it was a call from my dad to hurry back home.” Remembering her severely improvised plan made Molly shudder.

April tried her best to hold her laugh imagining how that could have played out.

“You’re welcome, again.” Ripley said, very proud about her almost unnoticeable and completely accidental help, but proud nonetheless.

Molly simply groaned in response.

“Okay, that’s it.” April stood up from her chair abruptly and cracked her knuckles. “It’s time to make a plan. We need to brainstorm!” She threw her fist in the air as if to boost the group’s morale, or at least Molly’s.

“Hell yeah! I’m gonna go get my whiteboard.” Jo left the room in a rush to look for her whiteboard and every color marker she could find, followed close by Ripley, excited to get to use her art materials.

In no time, Jo’s room could have been easily mistaken with the lair of a conspiracy theorist. The white board sprawled across the bed, thousands of notes dangling from it and some forgotten on the floor, all tied together with red yarn that interlaced important information they had written down. No one questioned where Ripley had even gotten the red yarn.

Thousands of words with little discernable sense were scribbled on the papers.

_ Mal likes: _

_Music_

_Old movies_

_Molly (aww)_

_Apples_

_Cartoons_

_ Avoid: _

_Water_

_Heights_

_Math (?_

_~~Eagle!~~ _ _No April_

_Favorite movie? Favorite song? Favorite color? Birth stone? Zodiac sign? (why?)Waffles or pancakes? (???) ~~~~_

There were also pictures upon pictures of old promposals they found online, now printed out and with various scribbles and doodles on top of them.

_Too cheesy_

_Too much_

_Too expensive_

_Too straight_

_Too boring_

The girls weren’t sure just for how long had they been hard at work with their brainstorming, but the exhaustion was becoming apparent, and Molly had about as much of an idea of what to do as when they began, maybe even less.

“Okay, maybe this is a little harder than I thought it would be.” April said with a sight, plopping to the ground next to Jo, where she laid face up staring intensely at her tablet, scrolling through videos of promposals like a scientist analyzing data.

“You’re telling me…” Molly sighed.

“Girls! Ripley’s mom is here!” The voice of Jo’s dad called from downstairs. It was probably later than they thought it was.

“Sorry we couldn’t help you Molly, want me to give you a ride home?” Ripley asked, grabbing her things and offering Molly an apologetic smile.

Molly returned the smile, assuring her and the rest that they had helped her enough, at least to sooth her nerves for a while. “I think I’ll walk back home. Thanks, Rip.”

Ripley dashed downstairs, where her mom was chatting with Jo’s dads, followed by the rest of the girls.

Leo, Jo’s dad, asked Molly if she would like to stay for dinner once he looked at the hour, but she politely refused once again. The day had been quite tiresome, and Molly needed some time to herself and think, the walk back would do her well, it wasn’t that long of a walk anyway.

Making her way down the familiar street Molly let out an exasperated sigh. Why was she so bad at this? This romantic stuff seemed to come so easily to her friends, not to mention to Mal. She always had the perfect words to say, the perfect gesture, the perfect detail that made Molly’s heart flutter and her stomach feel like it was filled with butterflies. It was always so spontaneous too, and here she was, with marker ink and red yarn on her fingers because she couldn’t even plan a romantic gesture without conducting a whole underground operation, not that it had led her anywhere.

This wasn’t even about going to prom anymore. Molly just wanted to make Mal feel the same way she made her feel, so special and loved, to gift her another amazing memory like the thousands she had already gifted Molly.

“I suck at this…” Molly muttered to herself, kicking a pebble down the sidewalk.

After the pebble made an unexpected turn towards the grass Molly finally lifted her gaze, not realizing she was already in her neighborhood until she saw the familiar park she always passed on her way home.

It was around 7pm by now, so the beat up lights had already turned on, giving the park and uncharacteristic whimsical look. Molly couldn’t help but remember the numerous times she had gone to that park with Mal, to seat at the old swings and chat for hours or just goof off on the kids’ playground.

The memories came flooding her thoughts, and so Molly decided to sit and rest at the swings for a while. She wasn’t really physically tired, just mentally she guessed.

After walking the old gravel road that was illuminated by nothing but the old cast iron lamps, Molly stopped to sit on the rusty swings. She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips, remembering the first time she had sat there with Mal, when a forceful swing sent the other girl against the ground on her back. Of course at the moment Molly had worried about Mal, the loud thud startling her, but her worries had quickly disappeared when Mal simply laid there on the grass laughing her heart out and red like a stop sign, either from embarrassment or the rush of blood to her head. At that moment Molly couldn’t help but laugh along, surprised at how easily this girl she barely knew back then could make her laugh with such ease.

After that moment Molly knew that that was a sound she could never get enough of. She didn’t quite understand the feeling at the time, but she knew she could never get tired of listening to Mal ramble on about bands Molly knew nothing about or quote her favorite movies every given chance. She could never get enough of the gleam in her eyes whenever she looked into Molly’s or the subtle touches she would always sneak into casual conversation.

Then it hit her.

She had an idea.

“Care to explain the note that magically appeared in my locker?” Molly turned around from her locker to find Mal, leaning next to her with a neatly folded piece of paper between her fingers and an amused smile on her face.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Molly lied, confidently for the first time, but all for the sake of the surprise. “Maybe you have a secret admirer.” She added playfully.

Before Mal could enquire about it any further the bell rang, signaling they had about five minutes to get to class. Molly took this chance to wave her girlfriend goodbye and run to her classroom, afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep the surprise if engaged in further conversation. Mal waved back wearily with a smile and unfolded the small paper on her hand to read it once again, for about the fourth time that morning.

_6 pm @ the park._

_You know the one._

_Don’t be late._

_< 3_


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im back! Yet again  
> I had this story planned for a while and I felt terrible leaving it there for so long when I was so close to the final chapter, and finally here it is!  
> Im also thinking of writing an epilogue at the actual prom night, just because I have a lot of ideas for it, but that could take a while before posting.  
> Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the story and I hope its been to your liking, and thank you so much for all your patience with my multichapters.

The rest of the day was uneventful and went by fast, faster than Molly would have liked actually, because suddenly she was standing at the entrance of the park, eyeing her phone to check the hour.

_5:45_

Staying cool and collected throughout the day at school had been a herculean test all on its own, and Molly felt bad for purposefully avoiding Mal at the halls and in between periods, but a girl can only handle so much secrecy.

April had taken it upon herself to assure Mal that everything was fine and that Molly was just being her quirky self. Jo had taken it upon herself to shut April up whenever she got too close to revealing any clues that could potentially ruin the surprise. It had been a very interesting lunch.

Still, Mal knew better than to ask too many questions, and despite missing Molly throughout the day, she understood her girlfriend was planning something for her. Just what was the surprise in question still eluded her. After going through a few moments of panic where Mal swore she had forgotten a special date like some sort anniversary or birthday, she decided to relax and patiently wait until 6:00 pm, as the note instructed her.

“Ready?” A familiar overly excited voice startled Molly. It was Ripley, standing next to her trying to contain her enthusiasm by bouncing slightly on her feet.

“Nope.” Was all Molly managed to answer.

“That’s the spirit!” Ripley answered, giving Molly a rather forceful pat on the back that managed to wobble her posture slightly, despite the notorious height difference between the two.

In all fairness, she was ready, despite her involuntary response. She had been planning this whole thing for days, non-stop, managing to get a few of her friends on board with the operation as well, but somehow maintaining the whole gesture as very private and personal.

It was everything Molly wanted out of her promposal for Mal.

That is, if everything stayed according to plan.

Molly ran through the whole plan in her head for about the fiftieth time that day. She had placed the note inside Mal’s locker for them to meet at the park near her neighborhood. Molly didn’t really need to specify which park; Mal knew instantly, catching the message with a faint smile on her face.

Inside the park, her friends had helped set up a small trail, completed with small mementos of Molly and Mal’s relationship; an arrangement of the same flowers Molly had gifted Mal for the first time from her very own garden, an old stuffed toy raccoon that Mal won for Molly after an afternoon spent at the fair, a few pictures of theirs and the group’s many adventures. The familiar trail culminated by the swings, where Molly would be waiting.

In her musings the minutes passed her by and she knew Mal would be there any minute, since the girl only reserved her habit of tardiness for particularly boring classes, so Ripley hurried Molly to go to her spot and the small girl would do the same, assuring her that everything was set up and ready. 

Molly swallowed hard and settled near the swings to wait.

Maybe there wasn’t a big crowd or a rock band or errant spirits involved, but to Molly it was perfect. She only hoped Mal would feel the same.

The sky was starting to shift to tones of red and orange reminiscent of a summer afternoon, while the sun descended over the horizon ever so lazily.

It was the perfect afternoon. Nothing could go wrong.

Until the distant roar of thunder startled her, making Molly look up again at the sky while all the warms colors of the sunset washed off into hues of gray in a matter of seconds.

Sure, there had been a couple of clouds looming around all day but there was no sign of rain, up until now. Because of course it would rain right now.

As quick as the afternoon changed from warm and orange to cold and gray, it started raining, so Molly ran back to the shade of an old oak by the swings to shield from the rain as best as she could. Her phone was buzzing like crazy, not exactly helping with the mini heart attack Molly was having.

It was a long string of texts from her friends, asking and warning about the inclement rain that started to fall. Apparently it was quite the storm, with a forecast of thunder and lightning and strong winds. Molly didn’t know who to answer first or what to do, but suddenly that didn’t matter anymore, when a familiar voice called her name through the deafening storm.

It was Mal, running towards her, shielding herself from the rain using her red flannel. Despite her best efforts, she was still soaking wet.

“Mal!” Molly called for her. Not that her shelter situation was ideal, but at least it would get her out of the rain.

Mal finally saw her girlfriend waving and calling from under the huge tree and made a run for it, smiling wide and bright despite everything.

“Hey.” Mal greeted her once she made it under the tree, running a hand through her damped hair and with that smile still in place.

However, Molly was the exact contrast to her, with a worried frown on her face and shaking slightly. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the cold raindrops rolling down her skin or the fact that everything she had so dearly planned for the evening had crumbled before her in a matter of seconds. It was probably the latter, really.

But right now none of that mattered. Because of that stupid plan Mal was soaking and most likely going to catch one hell of a cold and they were basically stuck under a tree until the rain cleared up.

“Mal are you okay?” Was all Molly could manage to ask. The other girl was also shaking, trying to dry off her clothes as best as she could and was… smiling? How was Mal smiling after everything that had happened?

“Yeah, I needed a shower anyway.” Mal answered. Okay, so she was smiling and cracking jokes.

Molly was beyond confused at this point; this dynamic was usually the other way around.

But as usual, Mal managed to get a laugh out of Molly, and a much needed one at that.

“Are you okay?” Mal asked her, placing her hand on Molly’s shoulder. Despite being cold and wet from the rain, Mal’s hand felt as warm as ever.

“Yeah, this is just… not at all what I planned…” Molly answered, her voice barely audible above the rain.

“That reminds me!” Mal said, turning to her backpack to search for something. “I ran into someone on my way here.”

Mal turned back to face Molly, holding a rather familiar stuffed raccoon. The poor guy was wet from the rain, but it could have been much worse if Mal hadn’t found it. Molly held the stuffed toy between her and Mal, like it was the most delicate thing ever.

“He’s quite the romantic, you know? He had these with him.” Mal continued, rummaging for a couple other things inside her bag.

The flowers from Molly’s garden, once tied together neatly with a red ribbon and now barely a few of them holding themselves together, and a few of the pictures that were placed along the trail. Molly knew a few of them must have been washed away by the rain and that April probably won’t forgive her for that.

Molly’s smile faded quickly, despite the witty funny remarks from Mal; seeing all her efforts placed before her completely ruined was all too much for her heart to handle. Molly didn’t want to make a big deal about it, especially since today was supposed to be a great day, but she could still feel the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.

Mal, of course, noticed.

“Hey, Mol… It’s okay, don’t cry.” Mal said, placing both hands at Molly’s arms and rubbing lovingly, warming Molly again.

Molly held tightly to the stuffed toy raccoon and sniffed to stop the tears, mentally scolding herself for it.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen like this…” Molly managed to say and a blush crept to her face out of embarrassment.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Molly wanted to ask Mal to prom then and there, surrounded by memories and beautiful details, most of them which were now washed off by the rain.

Mal looked around for a few seconds; her brows furrowed looking for the right words to say. The rain around them was still going strong, contributing to the night that already made it hard to see anything, besides the distant dimmed lights of the cast iron lamps of the park. It was sort of romantic actually, if you could ignore the cold and loud thunder cracking around them.

“Can I ask how was it supposed to happen?” Mal finally settled on asking.

Molly fidgeted with the stuffed toy that she held like a lifeline, and after letting out a heavy sigh she proceeded to explain every detail to her girlfriend. Mal was probably just asking her about the promposal, but Molly couldn’t help but spill every detail about her long days trying to think of the perfect gesture, the perfect surprise to match those of her peers, about dragging their friends into plotting and setting everything up.

With every new detail Mal’s eyes grew bigger and bigger, and the light blush on her face deepened.

That explained some of Molly’s strange behavior from the past days, but she could have never guessed how much trouble had Molly gone through just for the sake of gifting her a beautiful memory. It was overwhelming in the best sense. 

“Now it’s all ruined…” Molly concluded. Her voice faltered slightly, but at least she had managed to hold the tears.

Mal was again at a loss for words, but she couldn’t look around at the rain and the dim lights, she could only focus on Molly’s beautiful green eyes shining brighter than any star on the night sky. At that second Mal decided for the first time in her life that maybe words just weren’t going to cut it, and wrapped her arms around Molly on a tight hug, earning a squeak from the blonde girl at the sudden reaction.

“It’s not ruined… It’s perfect. Thank you, Molly.” Mal whispered at the crook of Molly’s neck.

Molly finally registered what was happening and let herself melt into the hug, a whole new set of tears threatening to spill form her eyes. At that moment, wrapped around the warm of Mal’s arms, Molly finally felt like she had found that element, that little detail she had been looking for to make everything perfect.

For a moment Molly pulled away to get a look of Mal’s beautiful eyes, and that familiar spark gave her the last bit of courage she needed. “Then I guess I still have to ask… Will you go to prom with me?”

Molly had that dorky smile on her face that Mal simply loved, and she could tell the taller girl was making a great effort to look her in the eyes despite her embarrassment. The question had been accentuated with a bit of playfulness when Molly lifted the small toy raccoon up to her chin and motioned its little paws like it was asking a question.

Mal let out a chuckle and Molly swoon at the blush on the other girl’s face, not like hers was any more discrete.

“It would be my honor.” Mal finally answered, placing a small kiss to Molly’s lips.

The moment, however, was somehow ruined when Mal’s phone began to ring.

Checking quickly the caller ID they could see it was Barney. Mal debated if she should take the call or ignore it and go back to kissing her girlfriend, until making the difficult choice to answer.

“Hello-“

“There you are!” Her greeting had been cut short by a high-pitched voice from behind the phone that unmistakably belonged to April.

Mal cringed at the sudden volume hitting her ears, and Molly followed suit being able to hear the scream from where she was standing.

“Hey Mal.” Barney finally spoke up. “It’s really coming down out there. We just wanted to make sure you were okay. Molly hasn’t been answering her phone.”

Molly managed to hear that and pulled out her phone to take a quick look at it. The string of texts was way longer now and she had at least 20 missed calls from her friends combined.

_Oops._

Molly smiled guiltily while Mal shot her a grin with a raised eyebrow.

Mal proceeded to explain everything as best and as fast as she could to Barney, who passed the message as best as they could to whom Mal assumed were April and the rest of the girls.

“Do you guys need anything?” Barney asked after semi processing the sudden change of plans.

“Nah,” Mal turned to look at Molly with a small smile. “I think we’re good.”

Molly returned the smile sincerely and held tight to the stuffed toy in her hands again.

“Awww that’s sweet-“ Barney’s voice snapped Mal’s attention back to the phone and deepened the blush on her face. “But I meant like we can go get you with a few umbrellas, if you’d like.”

Molly shrugged in response. Umbrellas and an actual roof would be great.

“Oh. Yeah, we could use that.”

In no time the cavalry was there, like a colorful parade of awkward teenagers with raincoats and umbrellas, consisting of Jo hand in hand with April, a very bouncy Ripley, Barney and even Diane, who had actually helped with the flowers and, according to her, was stuck with the “dork patrol” because of the rain after dropping off the flowers at the park per Molly’s request.

They weren’t as much needed after helping set everything up, but before they could make their ways back to their respective afternoon plans the rain started coming down, so the group decided to make a run for Barney’s house, the closest of the group.

So yes, maybe the plan had been over before it even began and their joint efforts and days of planning had been for nothing, but looking back at that moment, under the old tree Mal and Molly knew so well, surrounded by nothing but dim lights, heavy rain and each other, Molly wouldn’t have had I any other way.

Now all that was left for Molly was enjoying her prom dance with the most wonderful girl she had the joy to call girlfriend.

Right after enjoying some hot chocolate and warm sweaters with the people that helped make it happen, though.


End file.
